The current rapid pace of scientific discovery, particularly at the cellular, genomic, and molecular levels, offers unprecedented opportunities for direct application of basic scientific findings to the problem of clinical gastrointestinal disease. This progress will be optimized by providing rigorous training in research thought and technique to a select group of gastrointestinal surgeons who are already directed towards academic leadership. The Specific Aim of this program, currently in its fourteenth year of funding, is to provide formal training in either clinical or laboratory research to this select group of individuals as an integral component of their postgraduate clinical training. One trainee per year is competitively selected from those entering the Advanced GI Surgery training program at Johns Hopkins. During the first three years of postgraduate clinical training, this trainee is guided to choose a senior investigator/mentor from our list of participating faculty, all of whom have demonstrated an outstanding record of independent basic scientific achievement, as well as an established record of successful trainee mentorship. The formal scientific training period begins after the third clinical year, and lasts for two-three consecutive years. This training period is uninterrupted by clinical duties, and includes formal training in research ethics as well as other elective course work tailored to individual interests and capabilities. Many of our trainees complete our program with additional Masters or Doctoral degrees. All trainees are assigned an Individual Progress Committee charged with critiquing the trainee's research, monitoring long-term progress towards an independent investigative career, and aiding in the selection of appropriate course work. Our trainees are immersed in an outstanding educational environment, which includes the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, the NIDDK-funded Johns Hopkins Digestive Diseases Research Core Center, and the NCI- funded Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center. The specific recruitment of underrepresented minorities to this program is enhanced by the activities of the School of Medicine's Office for Diversity, as well networking and advertising through the Society of Black Academic Surgeons. To date, eight program trainees have completed their combined clinical and research training. All eight have achieved full-time faculty positions in prominent institutions, including Johns Hopkins, UPenn, University of Michigan, UCSD, UCSF and Thomas Jefferson. Four of the eight have already achieved extramural research funding. In this manner, the program is designed to generate a highly selected group of GI surgeon-scientists who will provide academic leadership for the 21st century.!